8 ms·

marginal utility is much higher for the government (and the public) than for you

• kbutler 6y ago
  I think that statement is backwards. Are you asserting that the government (and the public) will get more utility (benefit) from the extra 1 dollar on its $2.7 billion budget (increase of .000 000 04 percent), than I would from the extra dollar in my net annual income (on the order of a thousandth of a percent)? That's a pretty incredible contention.
  • webmaven 6y ago
    On a per-dollar basis, you indeed get more marginal utility from the extra dollar than the government would. But on a percentage basis (in a progressive taxation scheme, and especially in the higher tax brackets) the government gets more marginal utility from a 1% tax increase than you would from a 1% tax break.
    • kbutler 6y ago
      Nope. In any bracket and at any percentage, the government will be adding $x to it's huge budget by taking $x from an individual or organization's much smaller budget. (* Note that it really isn't valid to compare marginal utility between entities. It's an individual, relative measure, rather than an absolute quantity.)